City feels G Noida tremors

Following the Shahberi village land acquisition case in Noida Extension, farmers from three villages near Manesar have decided to move court against Haryana government’s decision to acquire 1,150 acres of land for the extension of Industrial Model Township (IMT) Manesar. Sanjeev K Ahuja reports.

Following the Shahberi village land acquisition case in Noida Extension, farmers from three villages near Manesar have decided to move court against Haryana government’s decision to acquire 1,150 acres of land for the extension of Industrial Model Township (IMT) Manesar. On Tuesday, they will file a writ petition in Punjab & Haryana High Court.

If the farmers succeed in getting a stay order or win the legal battle, the fate of major projects will hang in the balance, including the proposed 250-acre convention centre (Pragati Maidan) and 30-acre inter-state bus terminal (ISBT).

The state government is offering compensation of R70-80 lakh per acre against market rates of R2-2.5 crore per acre, farmers said on Sunday.

“We feel cheated at the hands of Haryana government that had promised to revoke acquisition of land spread across about 3,350 acres covering seven villages — Maukalwaas, Baslambi, Kharkari, Fakarpur, Sehrawan, Kankraula and Fazilwaas. This was promised by the chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda in April when we met him with the help of Gurgaon MP Rao Inderjit Singh. Surprisingly, the state government dropped plans of acquiring land across four villages, except Sehrawan, Kankraula and Fazilwaas. The move is just to create a divide among us,”said commander (retired) Ram Singh Yadav, president of Kisan Sangharsh Samiti.

He said that 2,200 acres of land in villages Maukalwaas, Baslambi, Kharkari and Fakarpur was exempted from acquisition, leaving out the remaining 1,150 acres.

“The government is offering farmers Rs 70-80 lakh per acre while the market rate is more than Rs 1 crore per acre. It is even Rs 2.5 crore in some areas. The state government had announced that it will award compensation on April 26 but a PIL filed by us in the Supreme Court had stayed the move on April 25. However, to make the things more certain, our legal experts suggested that we file a writ petition,” Yadav said.

“The government should ensure that the compensation should match market prices else farmers will move court and get to the streets. Major projects such as Pragati Maidan and ISBT fall in these three villages," he added.

However, government officials refuse to comment saying the matter was subjudice.